10,000 gallons of sewage spill along Rancho Palos Verdes coastal road

Approximately 10,000 gallons of sewage spilled along a coastal roadway in Rancho Palos Verdes after a pipe burst on Saturday, Aug. 24.

The spill was reported around 9 a.m. along the 5500 block of Palos Verdes Drive South, across the road from the Portuguese Bend neighborhood, according to Michael Chee, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts.

A 16-inch long steel section of the pipe buried 6 feet underground burst near a vacant property along Palos Verdes Drive.

The two-acre property was built in 1929 and is one of the oldest structures in the city. It was purchased by two Palos Verdes residents in 2014, with plans to convert the gatehouse into the “Palos Verdes Heritage Museum” to serve as a historical museum, according to the City of Palos Verdes. The property owners have not yet met the requirements to convert the residence to a public museum

The cause of the pipe burst was likely due to “aging infrastructure” and not related to recent landslides that have caused grief for many homeowners in the area, Chee said.

Crews were able to divert sewage to an upstream pipe while repairs were made and a new joint was installed.

Most of the sewage spilled down the driveway of the historic property but did not damage it, with the sewage absorbed into the land not reaching the ocean, Chee said.